OBJECTIVE To determine the incidence and clinical presentation of Wegener's granulomatosis (WG) in Finland during the 20-year period 1981-2000. METHODS We performed a study with retrospective data retrieval using the hospital discharge register in Finland. All available hospital case reports were reviewed. We included those patients diagnosed with and treated for WG. Demographic and clinical ...

Wegener's granulomatosis (WG) is a rare necrotizing granulomatous vasculitis of unknown etiology commonly involving vessels, the upper and lower respiratory system and the kidneys. There are various symptoms and signs of WG due to a wide spectrum of involvement sites. The initial presentation of the disease as intraoral lesions is rare. In this paper, a case of WG that presented with a necrotic...

Organ shortage unavoidably leads to shifting strategies in modern transplantation medicine. Experiences with specific comorbidities in terms of organ transplantation therefore have to be made. We report a case of a 51-year-old male patient with successful orthotopic heart transplantation from a donor with granulomatosis with polyangiitis. After a good recovery, the patient was discharged to reh...

4. Alexopoulos, C. & Babitas, P. Age dependence of T lymphocytes (letter). Lancet 1976, i: 426. 5. De Paoli, P., Battistin, S. & Santini, G.F. Age-related changes in human lymphocyte subsets: progressive reduction of the CD4 CD45R (suppressor inducer) population. Ciin Immunol Immunopathol 1988, 48: 290-296. 6. Chandra, R.K. The relation between immunology, nutrition and disease in elderly peopl...

The mechanisms underlying Wegener's granulomatosis (WG) are not well understood. The role of T-cells in the pathogenesis of WG has only recently come into focus of research. This review presents recent developments regarding the role of T-cells in WG. The occurrence of anti-neutrophil-cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) directed against proteinase-3 (PR-3) is a hallmark of WG. ANCA seem to mediate va...

A seventy-one-year-old woman was hospitalized at our institution for a right-sided "renal colic" associated with an infectious background. Alithiasic ureterohydronephrosis was diagnosed by imaging. A urinary diversion was thus performed using a double J endoureteral stent. The etiologic assessment of the hydronephrosis showed the presence of a periureteral mass that caused extrinsic ureteral co...

PURPOSE To summarize the literature on the clinical utility of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (c-ANCA) as a diagnostic marker for Wegener granulomatosis. DATA SOURCES A structured literature search was done using MEDLINE; this search, combined with a manual search, yielded 747 articles for potential inclusion. These articles passed through a 4-stage review. Studies were included if they ...

Orofacial granulomatosis comprises a group of diseases characterized by noncaseating granulomatous inflammation affecting the soft tissues of the oral and maxillofacial region. The most common clinical presentation is persistent swelling of one or both lips. It is important to establish the diagnosis accurately because this condition is sometimes a manifestation of Crohn's disease or sarcoidosi...

CASE REPORT The case is presented of a 49 year-old woman with an orbital mass originating from the rhinosinus. She had a history of Wegener's granulomatosis, refractory to both biological and immunosuppressive therapy. Clinical examination showed proptosis, diplopia, and restriction of ocular movements. DISCUSSION Orbital mass resection was performed, due to its rapid growth, and lack of resp...

The purpose of this paper is to present Wegener granulomatosis manifesting in its periocular form. Review with new developments in understanding of the etiopathogenesis, clinical and laboratory findings as well as therapy modalities are shown through a series of patients gathered in collaboration with colleagues from UMC Utrecht, Netherlands. In the period from 1992 until 2004 the group of 54 p...